There’s a ‘tropical paradise’ beach in Cornwall that’s considered ‘the best’ – but there’s a catch…
Revealed: There is a ‘tropical paradise’ beach in Cornwall that is regarded as ‘the best’, with ‘warm water and attractive surf instructors’. But there’s a catch…
It has been voted the ‘best beach in Cornwall’ by ‘both the Cornish locals and frequent visitors to the county’.
Porthemmet’s ‘unspoilt’ beach is on the north coast of the county.
It is said to have ‘very warm waters’ and to look ‘more like a tropical paradise’ than a conventional British beach.
Not only that, but it’s billed as a surf hotspot with “a large number of (very attractive) surf instructors.”
But there’s a catch – Porthemmet Beach is completely fictional.
The beautiful beach at Porthemmet has been voted the best beach in Cornwall. But there’s a catch – it’s completely fictional
The actual beach that appears on the website is Makapu’u Beach on the east side of the Hawaiian island of O’ahu. Image courtesy Creative Commons
A giveaway is that the word ’emmet’ is used in Cornwall to denote holidaymakers, but it would probably never be picked up by people outside the county.
a convincing site set up to advertise the fake beach – and occasionally Tripadvisor review that played into the game – kept this made-up hot spot bustling travelers for years.
Incredibly, it’s a ruse that has been going on since 2007, with the beach website being viewed over 150,000 times in that time.
It caught the Tripadvisor user’s attention ‘Bnimo’, who previously wrote on a forum: ‘I read that Porthemmet Beach is beautiful and the only beach in Cornwall where nude swimming is allowed. I will be staying in Fowey for two weeks in May. Is the water warm enough for swimming then?’
It is advertised as a surf hotspot with ‘a large number of (very attractive) surf instructors’
User ‘Bella Hampshire’ took the question seriously and replied ‘The water in May will still be quite cold and not for the faint hearted (like me) although some people swim here year round – so up to you.’
However, others took to the forum to correctly identify the beach as fictional.
It’s no wonder the original website has fooled people – it’s quite informative. Detailed sections also describe the dolphins visitors can see and the “beautiful” coral reef they can dive into.
The site claims that Cornwall’s most famous musicians are frequent visitors and bathers can pick up Cornish pasties by the beach, noting: ‘Make sure you pronounce it “parsty” unless you want to be laughed at.”
This fake beach has been attracting travelers for years thanks to the convincing website set up to advertise it
Elsewhere the website gives readers directions to the beach: ‘It should be noted that there is a joke in Cornwall where the locals pretend they don’t know where Porthemmet Beach is. Don’t be fooled, every Cornish resident knows this beach, they are just having fun.’
a Porthemmet Beach gift shop has even been set up online and sells everything from boxer shorts to fridge magnets that read: ‘Porthemmet: the best beach in Cornwall.’
The BBC revealed that the mastermind behind the website is local teacher Jonty Haywood from Truro. He told the publication: ‘My main aim was to make a county-wide joke, something the Cornish people could enjoy themselves with. The national publicity has kind of given the joke away to a lot of people outside Cornwall.’
The actual beach that appears on the website is Makapu’u Beach on the east side of the Hawaiian island of O’ahu, which explains its tropical appearance.
Although more than a decade has passed since the Porthemmet hoax took off, the prank doesn’t seem to lose momentum just yet.